Players provide scouting report on Lamont Paris, system
Outside of assistants Eddie Shannon and Tanner Bronson, no one on the Gamecocks’ staff has spent a season under Lamont Paris or his system.
There is a lot of new around the program, but there are two players who have seen his system up close and personal.
Both transfers Hayden Brown and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk were on teams that have played against Paris’s Chattanooga teams and provided a scouting report on what to expect.
“Lamont Paris coached team? I would say they’re hoopers. Regardless of what they can or can’t do, they go out there and play,” Bosmans-Verdonk said. “They compete in a way that’s stress and worry-free but at the same time super intense. I think, just from what I’ve known being around him, he gets his players to compete for him. It’s his charm, coaching style, it’s everything.”
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Bosmans-Verdonk was part of the Illinois team that bounced Paris from the NCAA Tournament and expedited his journey to South Carolina.
He only logged one minute in that 54-53 win but was part of practice and scouting reports the entire week leading up to the game. He saw that up close and has enjoyed being part of it since arriving in Columbia.
He’s not just a great basketball mind. He’s a great guy and I think that translates,” he said. “If you can get your players to be committed to what you believe in, I think you’re going to have a good team. The things he’s doing with us, he’s doing that.”
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Brown, though, played and a range of games against the Mocs.
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In nine games against a Paris-coached team, Brown averaged 10.3 points on 42.4 percent shooting while averaging 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He did have a 37-point performance to pair with three other games where he scored in double figures.
Paris’s defense did force him into 1.6 turnovers in 24 minutes per game.
One thing he remembers about those matchups is the frustratingly tough defense he had to play against before coming to South Carolina.
“Man, he’ll guard. That’s what I’m excited for. I hated going against him,” Brown said. “I suffered from his defensive strategy and mindset. Now I get to be a part of it. I get to be part of the team other teams hate playing. I’m so glad I’m not in the other boat.”
South Carolina will have Garnet and Black Madness Oct. 26 before hosting Mars Hill Nov. 2 in the team’s exhibition.
The season starts in earnest Nov. 8 at home against South Carolina State.
